Malaysia to send special envoy to Myanmar for talks with junta

Malaysia, set to chair ASEAN in 2025, will dispatch a special envoy to the capital of Naypyitaw on February 6 for talks with Myanmar’s junta leadership, including Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing.According to reports, Malaysia’s new special envoy, Othman Hashim, is expected to meet the military junta and other relevant organisations during a three-day visit from February 6 to 8. Specific details have not yet been disclosed. Hashim, a former secretary of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the special envoy to Myanmar during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on January 17. He has been tasked with supporting the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC) to foster peace in Myanmar, where fighting has intensified.At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat, Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to making peace in Myanmar a top priority under its leadership, despite slow progress. It called for an end to violence, the start of political dialogue, and greater humanitarian aid.The growing displacement crisis in Myanmar has intensified the need for humanitarian aid, as the junta fights to retain power against resistance forces and ethnic armed groups. Malaysia has previously served as the chair of ASEAN four times; in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consists of Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar.In response to the 2021 military coup, ASEAN appointed special envoys to address Myanmar's crisis, but the junta has not adhered to ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus established in April 2021. In 2021, Brunei, as the ASEAN chair, designated its Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, as the special envoy to Myanmar. Then in 2023, Indonesia, holding the ASEAN chair at the time, appointed Ngurah Swajaya as its special envoy to Myanmar. Indonesia conducted meetings with certain opposition groups in July of that year.As ASEAN chair in 2022, Cambodia appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn as its special envoy to Myanmar. He met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on March 21 that year. In 2024, Laos appointed former Deputy Foreign Minister Alounkeo Kittikhoun as its special envoy to Myanmar. He traveled to the country in early January, where he met with coup leader Min Aung Hlaing. During the visit, the envoy also met separately with political parties and ethnic armed groups. Four years after the junta toppled Myanmar’s democratically elected National League For Democracy (NLD), the military has continued to launch violent attacks, often targeting civilians. The junta has shown some willingness to engage in peace talks with ethnic armed groups, announcing a new ceasefire with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). On January 31, the junta extended the state of emergency for an additional six months, stating that further stability is needed before holding an election.

Malaysia to send special envoy to Myanmar for talks with junta

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